Show me the way and I'll try again
by RecklessFire27
Summary: This is a Caryl fanfiction beginning at the end of 5x02. What might have happened while they were looking for Beth?
1. Chapter 1

It was dark, and strangely quite. Carol was about to get in that car and leave. She didn't know where to go, but she couldn't stay. At that exact moment, she heard a noise coming from the other side of the car. As she turned around, she saw a walker pacing at her. She immediately took her knife out of her pants and stabbed it right to its brain. It had become an habit now, something she barely paid attention too anymore. Especially right now, as her eyes were filling up with tears and her head full of memories she wish she could erase. Another noise, coming from behind this time. She turned over, but didn't see anything. She was in a state of alert, when she eventually saw a shape coming out of the bushes. The moonlight lighted up Daryl's face. Carol sighed in relief, even though she'd rather he didn't find her here.

"Whatcha doin'?" he asked with that hoarse voice of his.

She stared at him, unable to hold the pain on her face back. "I don't know."

Her voice was empty, just as if she didn't know anything anymore, as if she didn't care about anything. Daryl lowered his eyes, trying his best not to show how worried he he was about her.

After a few seconds, he lifted his head back up and made a quick move with his head. "C'mon."

He started to go back from where he came, but she didn't move. She was trying so hard to hold back her tears.

"... I can't." She whispered.

Daryl stopped right away, and slowly turned to face her. He didn't know how to react, he felt so helpless.

"What d'ya mean you can't?" he eventually said, not really eager to hear what was coming.

Carol wiped a tear away with the back of her hand, gathering her strength up.

"I can't face them. I can't... face you. I know Rick, Tyreese and everyone else forgave me, but I just can't forgive myself." She paused to control her breath. "I don't deserve to be here. I don't deserve your attention... I just -"

He didn't let her finish. "We've all done things. Whatever happen'd durin' those days... Ya need to forget 'bout it all. Drivin' away ain't gonna make things any better!"

He had raised his voice, hoping that would somehow clear up her mind. She leaned backwards to the hood of the car, and buried her face in her hands. She couldn't choke back her tears any longer. Daryl's heart broke into pieces at the sound of her sobs. There were so many things he wish he had the courage to tell her. Whatever she had done wouldn't change anything about the way he was feeling about her.

He was slowly walking towards her when he heard the sound of a car passing right in front of them. He quickly ran to the street to be sure it really was what he thought it was. He saw the white cross at the back of the car and immediately ran back and hit the lights of their car with his crossbow. Carol lifted her head up in surprise.

"Wow! What are you doing?!" She stood up, going after Daryl.

He glanced at her. "They got Beth! C'mon, get in!"

Carol didn't question herself and hurried inside the car as Daryl was starting it up.  
>She hadn't had time to ask Daryl what had happened to him during the days they were apart. She quickly figured he must have been with Beth, and she somehow ended up being abducted by those guys they were chasing after. Daryl confirmed her thought.<p>

"I was with Beth when we got attack'd by a bunch of those dam' walkers. I made her go outside, but when I came back she wasn' there no more." He paused, quicly looked at Carol, and then lowered his gaze. "That's on me."

Carol was staring at him, sympathy in her eyes. "None of what happened is your fault, Daryl... We'll get her back."


	2. Chapter 2

They had been driving for about thirty minutes when suddenly a loud sound was heard. The car started to skip right after, completely out of control. It rolled on itself until the front hit a tree. Daryl and Carol were pretty stunned, they didn't really have the time to understand what had just happened.

"Wow... You okay?" said Daryl in a shaky voice, turning to Carol, afraid she might have gotten hurt.

Luckily, she was okay. She looked at him, still a bit in shock, and gave him a little smile. "Yeah, I'm fine. You?"

He half-smiled back at her, and sighed in relief. "'m okay." He then opened the car door and put one leg out. "I dunno what the hell happen'd. Dam' car!"

Carol got out the car as well, and knelt down near the side of the car. "We must have driven on something. The tire is flat."

Daryl went around the vehicle to join her. At its sight, he kicked what was left of the tire in anger. "Fuck! Dammit!"

Carol stepped back in surprise, but didn't say anything that could have pissed him off even more. As he sat down on the hood of the car, Carol approached him and picked up his crossbow that he had left on the ground. "We can go on foot. We're probably close to the place they were heading to."

"Ya don't know that." he mumbled. She rolled her eyes and handed him his crossbow anyway. "Well, there's only one way to find out."

He finally got up, took his crossbow, and addressed her a small smile. "Thank you..." She smiled back at him and nodded in response.

"We'd better go 'cross the forest to avoid bein' seen." suggested Daryl.

"Forest it is, then." answered the gray-haired woman as she passed by him.

He stood still for a few seconds, staring at her. The conversation they'd had before the car showed up came back to his mind and he couldn't help feeling helpless. If he could take all her pain away and carry it himself, he wouldn't hesitate a second to do so.

"Hey mister daydream, you coming or what?" Carol was standing in the forest, an amused look on her face. Daryl moved forward to meet her, brandishing his crossbow just in case anything happened.

"What were you thinking of?" asked Carol, as they were walking side by side.

"Mhh, nothin'." he mumbled, still focusing on the surroundings.

She was about to tease him about that when they both heard a noise coming from their left. Daryl turned around very quickly and aimed his weapon at the bushes the sound was coming from. Carol grabbed her knife, getting ready to use it. Daryl lifted his arm and put it in front of her in order to make her understand to stay behind. At that exact moment, someone ran out of the shrubs.

She was breathless, both hands on her lap, facing the ground... Daryl couldn't believe his eyes, neither could Carol.

"... Beth?", eventually said Daryl, slowly lowering his weapon.

*** I'm sorry, this one is quite small. But I promise the next ones will be longer. I'm just setting up the whole thing. Reviews would be extremely appreciated, I'd like to know what you think of it and also what I could do to make it better?**

*** I'm sorry, this one is quite small. But I promise the next ones will be longer. I'm just setting up the whole thing. Reviews would be extremely appreciated, I'd like to know what you think of it and also what I could do to make it better? **


	3. Chapter 3

The blonde girl lifted her head up, her eyes were wide open.

"Oh my god..." she managed to whisper in relief while catching her breath.

Carol moved forward, and Beth ran in her arms. Daryl was standing right next to them, smiling. The young girl finally pulled away and turned to face Daryl. She grinned, still in disbelief. She then threw herself against his chest. It was still very hard for him to allow anyone apart from Carol to get so close to him, but he hugged her back anyway. She pulled away and looked quickly several times at each of them, still breathing heavily.

"I'll explain everything later but we have to go now, they might have noticed I escaped already."

Daryl and Carol nodded and hurried away. "'Kay, let's go then." he said.

He was wondering, more than ever, what had happened to her during all this time and who the hell were the ones who held her in captivity. But he'd much rather hear that from her later than find out by himself, so he started running encouraging the two ladies to follow his lead. Carol's head was filled with questions as well but she chose to focus on the surroundings, knife still in hand. Daryl put himself closer to Carol while running, not that she needed anyone to keep her safe, but he couldn't help it. It saddened him to realize she still had that same reflection of sadness in her eyes.

They had been running for quite a while when Daryl stopped, followed by the two women.

"I think it's okay now", he declared, seeking for Carol's eyes for her to give him confirmation. She nodded at him.

All three of them sat on the ground, catching their breath. They stayed silent for a while, none of them really knowing what to say. Carol eventually broke the silence, still breathless.

"Who are those people? Did they do anything to you?"

Beth looked up at Carol, apparently still in shock after what had happened to her during those few days. "I don't know who they are-" she paused to catch her breath a bit more, "-and no, I'm fine, but I think I escaped right on time." She glanced at Daryl, who was listening carefully. "They knocked me down right after they kidnapped me and I woke up in a bed. I think I was in some sort of an abandoned facility. There were other people with me, other captives, so I don't think they'll bother run after me."

She lowered her gaze, waiting for one of them to speak. Daryl nodded in silence, and Carol was turning her knife over in her hands.

"I tried to follow the car, but I couldn't do much without any vehicle. Looks like ya didn' need ma help anyway", he said chuckling a bit to calm the atmosphere down.

Beth softly laughed as well, and Carol grinned at Daryl who was watching her in the corner of his eye. The gray-haired woman got up, rubbing her hands on her pants.

"Well, we'd better set camp for the night. We'll meet the others tomorrow."

"The others? Who else is with you?", asked the blonde girl.

Daryl and Carol glanced at each other, grinning.

"Rick, Michonne, Glenn... Maggie", said Carol with a huge smile.

Beth starting sobbing after hearing Maggie's name. She was half smiling, half chuckling while the tears were running down her cheeks.

"She's okay. Ev'ryone is", added Daryl.

Beth brought her hand to her mouth. Not only her nightmare was over, but she was also going to reunite with everyone. Carol headed to a couple of bushes in order to pick up some branches to make a fire. While passing by Beth, she gave her a little squeeze on the shoulder.

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><p>Later on, they were all sitting around a fire Daryl had finally managed to make. The blonde girl couldn't keep her eyes opened anymore, so she leaned on her side and fell asleep pretty easily. Daryl and Carol moved away to stand guard together. They sat down near a tree and remained silent for a few minutes.<p>

The moon was hidden behind a bunch of clouds, and a freezing wind was blowing in the air. Carol started to shiver, and rubbed her arms with both of her hands. Daryl glanced at her, eyes filled with concern. He got up, removed his sleeveless jacket and put it on her shoulders. She looked up at him, grinned and squeezed his hand.

"Thank you."

He smiled at her while sitting back down, closer to her this time.

"I'm glad we found Beth... And I'm also glad because you won't have to feel guilty for it anymore", Carol said while drawing some circles on the ground with a branch.

Daryl was looking down as well. He hadn't been able to put their previous discussion out of his mind, not even for a second. "Mmh yeah, 'm glad too." A silence. "... But I'm worried 'bout ya." He finally looked up to stare at her.

She didn't move, still circling on the ground. She could feel the tears coming once again.

"I'm okay."

"Carol..."

She eventually managed to lift her head up and looked at him. Her lower lip was slightly beginning to shake, and Daryl noticed that.

"I'm fine, Daryl..." But she couldn't hold the tears anymore and her entire body started shaking so she looked away and put one of her hands on her mouth.

Daryl moved his hand forward and grabbed her arm. He rubbed it with his thumb, not really knowing what to say. Carol suddenly put her arm away, not allowing Daryl to touch her. The last thing she wanted in the entire world was to hurt him, but she couldn't accept what she had done and she couldn't let Daryl be part of that. He deserved so much better.

She slowly got up, wiping a few tears off her face. "I just need some rest... Thanks again for the jacket", she said, forcing herself to smile at him in order to reassure him.

He nodded at her. She couldn't see it as it was pitch dark but a tear was rolling down his cheek.

He let her go to sleep, hoping that tomorrow things would get better – even though he doubted that. At least, she would maybe be more open to talk about it. She needed time, and he understood that.

* * *

><p>The night was calm and extremely quite. It had been a long day and Daryl couldn't keep his eyes open no more. He finally got up and decided to go wake Beth up. The sun would be up in a couple hours or so, she could handle it. He slightly shook her up, trying to make as less noise as possible in order to avoid waking Carol up.<p>

"Beth!"

The young girl finally opened her eyes up.

"Daryl? What's up?"

"Nothin', I jus' need to sleep a bit. Can ya keep watch?"

She got up, feeling still a bit asleep.

"Yeah of course, go get some rest."

He nodded and lied down nearby Carol. It only took him a few seconds to fall asleep.

Carol half-opened one eye.

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><p>An hour or so had passed, and Carol was still lying down in wait. From where she was standing, she could see Beth leaning on a tree, eyes closed. She had been in that position for about fifteen minutes, so she figured the young girl must have fallen asleep. She slowly and extremely carefully got up. She gathered a few branches in her hand and placed them on Daryl's jacket that she had left on the ground, right were she was lying. She then went away on tip-toe.<p>

* * *

><p>About twenty minutes later, Daryl woke up for some reason he ignored. He immediately turned to his other side to check on Carol, but his heart skipped a beat when he realized she wasn't there. He got up on his feet and turned around to look in every direction. His gaze stopped at Beth, asleep against a tree.<p>

"Beth!" he yelled while coming at her. He pushed her back and she fell on her back, which immediately woke her up.

"Where's Carol?!" he asked, half-angry half-worried.  
>"What? She's not here? I-I don't know..."<p>

"What do ya mean you don't know? You were supposed to keep an eye on the camp, for fuck's sake!" he was shouting at her, more pissed than ever before.

"I must have fallen asleep for awhile and-"

"For awhile uh?!"

He turned around, and buried his head on his hands. After a few seconds, he turned back again and threw his feet at the tree. "Dammit!"

Beth was in shock, and started to feel guilty. "But, I... Why would anyone have taken her, only her? They could have taken all of us!"

He rose a finger at her, and threw anger at her through his eyes. But he retracted himself. He couldn't tell her the real reason of Carol's absence. That would only make things harder. Instead, he walked back to the camp and spotted his jacket on the ground. He stopped and could feel his heart pounding in his chest. He approached it and knelt down to pick it up. At that exact moment, he noticed the branches. Carol had placed them on his jacket in a very special way. 'S.O.R.R.Y'. He buried his face in his hands once again, trying so hard to hold back his tears. He picked up his jacket, erasing the message at the same time so Beth wouldn't see it.

"Move your ass, 'm takin' ya back to the church." he snapped.

"B-but what about Carol?"

Daryl froze as he heard her name. He headed at her, death staring at her. "I said move your ass!" He turned over and started walking. "I ain't got no time to waist with ya slowing me down."

Beth didn't know how to react, she was pretty shocked. She knew that whatever she could say would only piss him off more – if it was even possible – so she just followed him and remained silent.

She wanted to apologize, but now was really not the time. They had been walking at full speed for about an hour without saying a word when they finally crossed a path Daryl was familiar with.

"Stay there", he curtly said to Beth while he went through the bushes to check if everything was okay. He got out of the other side of the bushes and came across Michonne. She grinned at him, obviously happy to have him back. But her smile quickly faded away as she saw he was alone.

"Where's Carol?", she said, frowning.

Daryl's eyes were filled with worries and helplessness. He turned his face over and angrily called Beth.

"Come on out!"

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><p><strong>* Reviews would mean a lot to me. I hope you like it so far. Just let me know.<strong>

Thanks again for the review 85, and here is the answer to your question ahah!


	4. Chapter 4

Beth slowly got out of the bushes, still feeling a bit dizzy after what had happened with Carol. Her face suddenly lighted up at the sight of Michonne standing right in front of her. The latter, who was quite worried not to see Carol around, gasped in surprise and drew a huge smile on her face.

"Beth?!", she disbelievingly said while stepping closer to hug her.

Daryl in the meantime couldn't think about anything else than Carol. Each second he spent here was a wasted one. The sad reflection in his eyes wouldn't go away until he found her safe and sound.

Michonne and Beth were chuckling, happy to see one another after all that had happened. The noise they were making alerted the others, who came out of the church in a flash. Rick stopped right at the bottom of the stairs, speechless. A bunch of "oh my god" could be heard from the group, and then Maggie showed up. She brought her hand to her mouth, letting the tears fill the corners of her eyes. She thought she would never see her sister again, she even had imagined the worst. She starting shaking, unable to move. As soon as Beth saw her, she ran to her and wrapped her arms around her sister's waist, crying as well.

Daryl was witnessing the scene from afar, ready to go back from where he came when Michonne, who hadn't forgotten her question, turned around and gave him an inquiring look. She slowly stepped forward, eyebrows frowned.

"Daryl... What happened? Where's Carol?"

A shiver went down his spine as he heard her name. He however tried to pull himself together in order to sound credible. He knew he had to lie to protect Carol, but that wouldn't be easy. He hadn't had the time to think about something to make up about her absence, which made his heart beat even faster in his chest.

"She's okay. We found a car a few miles away an' she's tryin' to fix it. I should go get her before-"

"Those things ain't working with me Daryl, where is she?" Michonne immediately responded.

He sighed and looked away. He was mad at himself for not managing to find anything better. He didn't want anyone to know what was up with Carol because he thought it would only make things worse, but he didn't really have a choice anymore. He was usually a good liar, but he was way too worried at the moment to concentrate on anything.

"She just left. She's mad at herself for what she done. Look, ya can't tell anyone 'bout this. I can get her back, and I will." He said in a slow and sad, but however determined voice.

Michonne frowned, feeling bad for her. She saw Carol as the strongest person she had ever met, and what she had done was, as painful as it was, the right decision. "I'll come with you."

"No, I need to talk to her. An' that's on me. I should've seen that comin', I should've paid more attention."

"None of this is your fault Daryl", she disbelievingly responded.

He didn't answer that. He felt like it was his fault, and he could never get that off his chest. "Look, no one can know 'bout that. If the others ask where we are, jus' tell 'em we went huntin' or whatever. Just don't tell 'em 'bout Carol."

Michonne really didn't think it was a good idea to let him go out there on his own but he was more determined than ever, and he didn't need anyone to take care of him. She reluctantly nodded, and Daryl turned over while the others were still hugging and crying over Beth.

"Be careful", Michonne whispered right before he disappeared behind the same bushes he came from.

* * *

><p>As he was running as fast as he could in the woods, he couldn't help imagining the worst. In the state Carol was in, she wouldn't really be able to defend herself if a bunch of walkers or anything else came her way. His hands were shaky and sweaty, and his heart was about to explode in his chest. A couple of branches were slapping his face every five seconds, and his crossbow was pounding against his back at the rhythm of his steps.<p>

He finally arrived at the camp they had left, after a few minutes spent searching for it. Luckily, his hunting skills were still at their best, probably even increasing due to the amount of adrenaline in his body.

He started to circle around the camp in a one mile perimeter, focusing on everything that could let him know what way Carol left.

* * *

><p>He had been searching for about twenty minutes, sweat was running down his forehead, fear was taking over, but he refused to ever give up. After a few more minutes, he finally found something. He knelt down to observe something that clearly looked like a footstep. He quickly found a few other ones, captured in the mud. It wasn't his or Beth's, he had no doubt about that. Plus, it faced the opposite direction of the camp. Pretty fresh also... It was Carol.<p>

He could have felt a bit relieved, but he wouldn't until he found her safe and sound. He followed the tracks, paying attention not to lose them. He noticed that her footsteps weren't regular at all, some of them were covering the others, some drifted away from their initial trajectory. She must have stopped several times, probably because she was crying. His heart stopped as he felt completely helpless. He could feel her pain from here, he could hear her broken heart hardly beating, buried under a way too important amount of ache.

He followed her steps for what seemed like an eternity to him. He eventually found something, not really reassuring though. At the bottom of a tree, a bunch of footsteps were covering the ground. As he was coming closer, his gaze stopped on something that made him shiver from bead to toe. He knelt down, his heartbeats echoing in his entire body.

He held in his hands the small piece of cloth he knew belonged to Carol. There was blood on it.

His hands were trembling harder than ever and he couldn't feel anything no was about to break down.

A scream.

He lifted his head, tangled between fear and hope as be recognized Carol's voice. He ran in the direction the noise was coming from at full speed. His blood was pounding against his veins.

A scream again.

* * *

><p>Carol was leaning against a tree, trying hard to push a couple of walkers back with her arms. She had dropped her weapon in the rush, and her arms were about to let go. She started crying in despair, not knowing what to do anyone. A small voice in her head kept saying that she had deserved it, that she was being punished. She couldn't disagree with that. She was about to give up when an arrow stabbed one of the walkers right in the head, quickly followed by another one, taking care of the other walker.<p>

She gasped loudly as she collapsed on the ground. Her eyes were wide opened, her heart was about to explode and her entire body was covered with sweat. She thought it was the end. She lifted her head up, and through her tears she saw Daryl running at her.

"Carol!", he said while crashing on the ground next to her. He couldn't hold his tears back. His hands and gaze searched for the hole in her shirt, and he finally spotted it in the lower part of her stomach.

"You bit? You bit!" He sobbed.

She gasped and searched for Daryl's face. She held him in her shaky hands. "N-no Daryl. I'm okay."

"But there's blood on-" he sobbed.

"It's not mine", she said while rubbing his cheek with her thumb and managed to smile at him. She still hadn't quite realized that she wasn't dead.

He collapsed on her shoulder, in tears.

She wrapped her arms around his back as tears ran back again on her cheeks. At that moment she realized how worried he looked, and she felt extremely guilty. She never thought anyone would actually care about her, especially that much. Ed never had. She had kinda gotten used to it. But Daryl came after her the two times she had tried to escape. He had accepted what she had done right away, without asking for any explanation. But he didn't know about Lizzie... And she couldn't face it, she couldn't accept what she had done. And Daryl risked his life trying to get her back, but if he knew what she had done... She sobbed against his neck and held him tighter.

"I'm so sorry..." she choked. "I'm so sorry for everything, Daryl."

He rubbed the back of her head with his hand. He needed to feel her body against his, to know she was really there.

"You have nothin' to apologize for. I'm the one who should've done somethin'..."

"Stop it."

"And also back at the prison. Without you, we'd all be dead. We'd have died several times over."

"Daryl..."

"You belong with us more than anyone, and you can't feel guilty for what you done Ca-"

"You don't understand", she whispered.

She slowly pulled back, keeping her head down and her cheek against his. She put her hand on his chest. She couldn't take it anymore, she couldn't keep it for herself anymore. It was burning her entire body up from the inside. She took a deep, shaky breath.

"Lizzie's dead..." she paused to catch her breath once again, "I-I killed her", she managed to articulate between two sobs.

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><p><strong>* Thanks a lot for the reviews! Keep them coming, it really means a lot to me :) <strong> 


	5. Chapter 5

"I-I killed her."

Her words echoed against the trees and disappeared in the air. Daryl hold his breath, and his heart skipped a beat.

Carol inhaled one big puff of air, gathering enough strength to carry on. "I came across Tyreese, Judith and the girls after what happened at the prison. I stuck with them, we... we found a house, a v-very nice house", she sighed, "We figured we could stay there for a while."

She was taking her time, keeping herself away from the painful part of the story.

"Lizzie...", the sound of her name punched her right in the stomach. "She didn't realize, she... She thought walkers were people, that they weren't dangerous..."

Her entire body was trembling, and her head collapsed once again on Daryl's shoulder. He hadn't said a word. He had to let her finish, to let her get it all off her chest. He rubbed the back of her head with his left hand and grabbed her hand with his right one, encouraging her to keep going.

"Tyreese and I had left for a few minutes, we were out of water... we never thought... She was standing nearby the house, she had a knife in her hand. It had blood all over it. And Mika..." She brought a hand at her mouth, muffling her cries.

Daryl froze as he understood what had happened. He couldn't say anything, he couldn't even think about anything to say that would be enough. He just held her closer to him.

"She was lying on the ground, she was... And Lizzie was about to it to Judith too. She kept saying she'd come back, that she hadn't hurt her brain. She was out of her mind. I tried so many times to make her understand, but this time it... It was too late."

Her fingers grasped Daryl's jacket and she held onto it. She could feel his hands rubbing her back, holding her closer and closer. Thanks God he was there. She would never have been able to do it with anybody else.

"She thought it was the right thing to do, pointing a gun at me was the only thing she felt sorry for." She took a deep breath. "She couldn't be around people. She couldn't be on her own, I-I couldn't let her t-turn."

Her voice broke as images flashed before her eyes.

* * *

><p><em>"I love you Lizzie."<em>

_There she is, coming out of the barn. She immediately knows it's her. She had seen it coming, but facing it was something else. Something she could never have gotten ready for._

_"SOPHIAAAAAAA!"_

_"Just look at the flowers."_

_**Bang**_

* * *

><p>Her sobs wouldn't let her say anything else, and Daryl could feel that. He didn't want her to torture herself any more, but he couldn't come up with anything to say. What could he tell her? He understood, more than ever. He knew she had done the right thing, and she knew it too but that wouldn't make the pain go away. He moved one of his hands to the back of her head and slightly stroke it. He could feel a few tears filing the edges of his eyes as he realized what she had been through. He wished he could take all of that weight off her chest and carry it himself, free her from everything that was destroying her from the inside.<p>

"It's okay, it's okay", he whispered in her hear while slowly rocking her.

He felt so useless, so terrible. This was the only thing he could come up with. She had been through the worst of nightmares and all he could do was stand there, helpless.

"It's okay", he said once again, waiting for her to calm down a bit.

They stood still for a few minutes. They were still on the ground, Daryl hadn't let go of his hold, not even for a quarter second. Carol was resting her head on his shoulder. Her body had stopped shaking, and her tears had dried.

"We'll start over", he whispered. "I can't ask you ta forget it, but you have to accept it. You saved people. You saved Judith, you saved us all. And if there's anyone who doesn' deserve to be here, it ain't you. It's everyone but you. You're stronger than any of us."

He pulled away, held her head in his hands and lifted her chin to make her look at him.

"You took lives to spare a whole lot of others, this is the most important part, an' it's the part you don' see."

Carol's eyes teared up again. She had Daryl's back, and that was more than enough.

"And if you wanna leave... Then I'm comin' with ya. I ain't losing you one more time", he said in a low but yet determined voice.

Carol managed to address him a tiny, shaky smile. She didn't know what she had done to deserve someone who took so much care of her. She felt like she didn't deserve it at all. The least she could do now was to make him stop worrying for her. Getting away from the group would be an act of weakness. It would be one more mistake she'd have to carry with her, and that would be one too many. Looks like he didn't give her that much of a choice. If she left, he would come with her and their group would lost one of their most trained killer. I was a dead end.

"I just need time, I need to accept it. I don't know if I ever will, but at least I can try." She then lowered her gaze and whispered one more thing. "I have to."

She pulled herself together and got up on her feet, so did Daryl, who nodded at her in sympathy.

"But I can't face Tyreese, not after what I did to him. You need to understand that. Maybe I did what I did for the sake of the group, but it doesn't change the fact that I took the woman he loved away from him." Daryl was about to respond to that but she raised a hand towards him to let him know she wasn't done. "I'm coming back with you, but you can't expect me to be at ease with that. I still don't think my place is there. I'm coming back because it would be selfish to leave knowing that you all could get attacked and need one more fighter", she said and started walking without looking at him.

Daryl stood still for a while, his gaze was lost somewhere as he was trying to pull himself together. Carol's words left him heart-broken and planted the idea that she might have reached a point of no return in his mind. Comforting people really wasn't his thing, especially when he knew how broken she was and that nothing he'd say would change anything. At least for now. She needed time to swallow.

"Where's Beth?", asked Carol, suddenly coming back to reality.

Even thought she hadn't said it, he knew she didn't want to talk about it anymore, at least for today, and it was probably the best thing to do right now. She was coming back with him, and she was safe.  
>"I brought her back to the church", Daryl finally said after keeping quiet for a few seconds. "Might have been a lil' too hard on her. I blamed her for fallin' asleep, for lettin' ya go. But it was my fault", he said, in an almost unintelligible voice while walking up to her.<p>

Carol stopped and grabbed his arm to make him turn around and look at her.

"How many times do I have to tell you that none of this is your fault? How could it be! Damn it Daryl, if it weren't for you I'd very likely have died a long time ago!" She was standing mouth agape as she coudn't believe he actually felt guilty about something he didn't have any control on.

"Mmh. Well that applies for you too", he said and looked at her with that deep gaze of his.

She tried to smile, but nothing came.

* * *

><p>They were quietly walking side by side, heading back to the church when Daryl eventually decided to tell her about his talk with Michonne. He didn't want to upset her even more than she already was, but she had to know.<p>

"I had to tell Michonne where you were and why... I tried to lie but she didn't believe me and I had no time to waste", he said, looking down at his feet. "She's got our back tho. Asked her to tell the group we went huntin' or somethin'."

"You didn't have to", she responded, feeling guilty once again.

"Ain't none of their business", he mumbled.

"Still."

"Oh c'mon, ain't that much of a big deal anyway. We'll be back before they even notice anythin'", he said trying to convince her to stop torturing herself with things that weren't worth worrying for.

Daryl was very uncomfortable with the situation. He didn't know what to say to her, or what she wanted him to say. Probably nothing. She was probably even mad at him for going after her. All he could think about was that even though she was coming back, she deeply didn't want to. But feeling guilty about bringing her back "against her will" was still better than feeling guilty for letting her leave on her own.

He knew the days to come were most certainly going to be unpleasant.


End file.
